Disclaimer: Don't own House M.D characters.
A/N: Slightly AU, just something I had in mind.
Claim Your Prize
by DarkHonda aka Tal
"Cameron?"
"You can call me Allison." She smiled and he chuckled, shaking his head.
"We've been working together for, what, three years now?"
"Almost four." She corrected.
"And only now you want me to use your first name?"
"Your point being…?" She challenged.
"You can call me Robert, you could have called me Robert since…pfff… I don't know, second week I've known you." He grinned.
"Thank you." She smiled and he shook his head.
"You're insane, Allison."
She let out a small noise.
"What? What did I do?"
"I like the way you say my name, Robert." She smirked and rose on her feet, walking out of the office and leaving him staring after her.
*
"...wombat, you do it."
Chase frowned, shaking his head slightly to wake from his daydream.
"Do what? Sorry…"
"Kiss Cameron, what do you think? Go check their house!" House barked and Chase rolled his eyes, House landed his cane on the blond hair, making Foreman laugh and Cameron…Allison, hide a smile.
He liked the idea of kissing her.
*
"Allison, wait up!" He called when she was about to exit the showers, she stopped and turned to him with a smile. He quickly pulled down his shirt and looked at her, he loved it when her hair wasn't collected into that tight bun. This way she looked free like the wind.
"Are you going to keep gaping at me?" She asked, her eyebrows raised, he gulped and shook his head.
"Do you… maybe… want to get a drink before heading home?" He shot at the darkness; she had every right to say no, every reason in the world to say so.
"It's kind of late…" she looked cautious for a moment, calculating, "But okay, let's grab a drink." She smiled and he found his cheeks warmer than they were a minute ago.
"Great, umm… my car?" He offered while grabbing his messenger bag and she shrugged.
"Whatever you like." She was always so nice and comfortable around him, why couldn't it be the opposite? Her being a little nervous when he was around?
*
"Is this place alright?" He gestured towards a bar not too far from PPTH.
"It's okay." She smiled and gave him that look; like she saw something that was obvious from miles away. He was definitely nervous now, but also very intrigued by her smile.
"Why are you smiling?" He stared at her for a few seconds before returning to watch the road and turned right into the parking lot.
"I don't know," She shrugged. "You're cute."
"And what did I do to be worthy of the title?" He could probably light the entire bloody lot with the redness of his face.
"You're being… you." She excused. "Are we ever going to get into that place or what? I'm starving!" She teased and got out of the car, he sighed deeply and followed her actions.
*
"What can I get you?" The waitress looked really tired. He glanced at Allison and waited.
"Big burger and orange juice."
"Same burger and beer, please." He added and when the waitress walked away he grinned at her, there was no way she was going to have that entire burger.
"What?" She shot.
"Is there a place in your body for that burger?" He eyed her with a raised eyebrow.
"Shut up!" She laughed. "I'm hungry!"
"There is no way you can consume it all." He argued.
"For your information, it's not my first time here and so not the first time I've had that burger."
"Right."
"Robert!" She kicked his leg and he laughed, shaking his head.
"Still don't believe you." He insisted, loving how the spark of spite made her eyes shine brighter.
"And if I do?" She challenged. He grinned.
"Fine, if you manage to eat it all of it you –"
"If I do, will you give me something?"
"Anything, because you won't."
"Is that a deal, Chase?" Oh, he loved when she tried so hard to prove him wrong and that taunting tone – it killed him!
"Yes."
They shook it.
*
"You are so not eating that." He laughed.
"I am!" She argued and to prove it, she took a small, Cameron-like bite. He was just going to win this.
"So, why did you invite me here?" She asked after a few moment, avoiding, he took another bite of his burger. Chewing gained him more time to come up with an excuse. Maybe he didn't need an excuse, maybe he should just tell her that he liked her?
"I thought we could hang out a little, we're colleagues, we're allowed to hangout." He shrugged, that was a very bad excuse. "Even if it's four thirty in the morning." He added for a good measure.
"I suppose you're right." She said after a moment, he noted to himself that she did not say anything about Foreman who was, obviously, absent from this 'colleague get-together'. He had to suppress a snort.
Well, maybe she liked him, too.
He hoped so.
They ate in silence for a few long minutes in which he managed to eat down his burger and watch her struggling with hers but still eating as well. He smiled to himself, what was there not to like in Allison Cameron?
"Why did you become a doctor, Allison?" She raised a pair of green eyes at him.
"I wanted to help people, make them better. I thought I could change the world." She smiled and he nodded.
"But you know," she paused, "I thought everyone already knows this about me, why did you ask?"
He shrugged.
"Just because everyone thinks they know, it doesn't mean it's true. I guess I wanted to hear for myself." He explained and took a sip of his beer.
"Why did you become a doctor? With your dad… I mean, I know I wouldn't have taken up medicine if I were you." He sighed, trying not to smile at that famous curiosity of hers; talking about his family and youth was hard for him, sometimes he wished he could just forget them, erase them and being just him, Robert. But it wasn't possible.
"I came to a conclusion that… you don't have to be God's servant on earth to help people, to save them." He looked down at his hands, then his beer and lastly in her eyes.
He was scared of her reaction.
"I think you were right." She whispered and her hand motioned to his, and suddenly there was this battle inside him; to let her hold his hand, to let her in his complicated world? Or should he reject her, maybe it was a mistake?
Her skin was warm, her touch so gentle as she rubbed her thumb on the back of his hand. It was nothing, the simplest touch, but it felt like the world was just again, like she amended everything wrong and faulty.
"Allison…"
Her name was like a prayer on his lips and he didn't do anything more then let her caress the skin of his hand!
"I don't want to talk about it." He said quietly and she withdrew her hand and his world turned unjust, cruel. He felt lonely all of a sudden, lonely like he hasn't been since fifteen.
"You know what?" She opened, her voice soft and taunting altogether. "Watch as I defeat you and win the bet." She smiled and he watched her, can't help the smile rising in him when he saw her finishing that burger in two huge bites. He had to laugh.
He did, it felt good. Releasing.
"Allison, you animal!" He teased and she laughed and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"I won." Her eyes sparkled with pleasure and victory.
"You won." He confirmed, living the now, forgetting all the bad things that had happened, all that he lost. She sipped her juice and glanced at her watch, stretching a little.
"What would you like as a prize?"
"Am I allowed to think about it?" He liked the promise in her eyes when she said that.
"Yes." He smiled and she burst into a fit of giggles.
"Are you drunk?" He teased.
"On orange juice? I don't think so. Let's go home." She asked and he nodded once, a little sad that it was all over. The magic slowly dissolving from all around them.
"Check, please." He called the waitress, while pulling his wallet from his bag.
"I'll get that." Allison said quickly but he only smiled and shook his head.
"I invited you, I'm paying." He set out the fact, Allison frowned but he ignored her. The waitress conveniently handed him the bill and he nodded at her and pulled the money from his wallet, including tip and gave it to the waiting waitress. Then he got up and waited until Allison did the same and the pair headed out.
*
He parked in front of her apartment building and escorted her to her door, just to be safe. She stopped in front of her door, facing him with a smile, he couldn't help but smile back.
"I'm really glad you asked me to come, I had a great time." Her smile said everything he needed to know. He just wanted a repeat performance.
"Me too, you're fun." He smiled, watching her laughing.
"Thanks." She stared right into his eyes and he felt so exposed all of a sudden, like she could see into his soul.
"We should do this again sometime." She added and he grinned and nodded.
"I hope so, too." He mumbled but she seemed to have understood what he said because she smiled widely.
"Good night," She wrapped her hands around his neck and held him fro a moment, he quickly responded, wrapping his arms around her and burying his nose in her loose hair. Her scent was so rich and hopeful. He was intoxicated.
When she pulled back, he felt a little empty.
He watched when she turned around, unlocking the door, but he grabbed her hand, pulling her back.
"You forgot to claim your prize." He whispered, not really knowing why.
"Can I?" she smiled.
"Anything you'd like." He reminded immediately and she grinned and wrapped her arms around him, he thought it was for another hug, but then she stood on his feet and kissed him. When her taste hit him, he felt dizzy, this was all he hoped for, more than that! He grinned at Allison when they ran out of air, their breathing hard.
"You." She smiled, kissed his cheek and took his hand, leading him inside.
A/N: What can I say? I like Chameron. I know it wasn't that great, but I just needed it to be out of my head.